Naspirated

However, Karate in the Olympics would not only include Kumite(sparring), the second half of the MA would also include Kata. Personally, I believe if one were to compete in the Olympics in Kata, the individual must still retain the true meaning of Karate, since Kata is the essence of Karate. To be good at kata, you must have good Kihon(basics) and kumite(sparring). One cannot perform good kata without knowing the true traditions and culture of Karate do.

Think of tournaments as a entension of your martial arts training. Yes, some may say it is or is not a so called "real fight", but when individuals compete in martial arts tournaments, it places you in a situation were you must use your training and knowledge to defeat your opponent. No matter what type of tournament you enter: Muay Thai, TKD, Karate, submission, etc....The feeling is much different then regular training. In the dojo you train to better yourself, and if you mess up you learn from your mistakes and you correct yourself as your training progesses. A tournament on the other hand consist of you, judges, your opponent, and probably a whole bunch of people looking at you. The feeling in both situations are different. Your physical abilities may be above and beyond others, however if you cannot be relaxed, focused, and aware of your surroundings in a controlled stressed enviorment (tournament), is it possible for you to handle a real combative situation? You must be able to combine both atheletic ability, and strategy in tournaments. If you can perform well in a tournament, you have experienced something that someone else has not. Is it possible that you have an advantage now because you have learned and seen something that others have not? This is why it may be compelling for you to enter tournaments to gain the experience, and see for yourself how difficult it is for any individual to compete. It's pretty easy to watch the game on the sidelines, but put your self in the shoes of any competitive athelete(martial artist), you'll see a whole new world. My 2 cents.....sorry for the rant

Recently karate has recieved the attention of the IOC (Internationl Olympic commitee), and will hopefully enter the 2004 olympics as a demonstration sport. Personally I believe extending Karate into the Olympics will help promote karate as a sport, however does subjecting karate directly towards sports training and winning competition take away from the culture and traditions? What do you think? Is sport the way to go, or must we retain our foundations and stick with the traditional way of karate?